Food and Literature in Early Modern England (EAS3246)

30 credits

In early modern England, food did not only appear as an object of description, or a rhetorical trope. Literary representations of food were linked to discourses of production and consumption, waste and luxury, which resonate with modern concerns. The early modern English feasted, fasted, rioted, and committed or punished crimes over the issue of scarce food. They also dreamt of plenty and debated ways of gaining it. By exploring the theme of food in canonical authors from Shakespeare to Milton, as well as popular pamphlets, satires, recipe books, and visual media, the module aims to open up new perspectives on this fundamental human concern.